


Uniquely Portable Magic

by magnificentbanes



Series: tumblr prompts [3]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-02-05
Packaged: 2019-03-14 08:23:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13586142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnificentbanes/pseuds/magnificentbanes
Summary: from the tumblr prompt: “I could tell it was your favorite book from all the notes you wrote in the margins."





	Uniquely Portable Magic

**Author's Note:**

> title is from a quote by stephen king: "books are a uniquely portable magic"

Typically, Magnus was home before Alec because Alec always confronted with one crisis or another right as he was meant to come home. But, on the odd days that Alec was home first, it meant that Magnus had a client that kept him late into the night. He always told Alec that he didn’t need to wait up, but Alec always insisted, saying that he couldn’t sleep without Magnus, even though he never made it until Magnus got home. Therefore, it wasn’t uncommon for Magnus to come home to find Alec asleep on the couch, or sitting awkwardly in the chair, or laying in bed, the glasses he always wore at home simply because his contacts irritated him by the end of the day. 

More often than not on these days, Alec had a book sprawled against his chest or, if it was an older book, set carefully on the nightside or table or sometimes even floor. It was almost always a different book than the book Magnus had found him with the time before, as Alec said that it was his mission to make his way through every book written in English that Magnus owned, which was admittedly a lot. Magnus warned him that a lot of the books were incredibly dull, but Alec said he didn’t care. He said that for the first time in his life, he had an opportunity to read for pleasure and he was going to take advantage of that.

Magnus did note, however, that Alec seemed to gravitate towards one book in particular. It was the only book he’d ever found Alec with more than once and it made Magnus wonder what about it drew Alec to it. It was one of Magnus’s dearest possessions, as he had had been the muse, unknowingly, for the author, who had tracked him down and gifted him a copy from the first printing. That was over a hundred years ago and while the book wasn’t the most well-written Magnus owned, nor the most valuable, it held a special place in his heart.

On one particular night that Magnus came home late, closer to dawn, he found Alec curled up awkwardly on the couch, with that particular book nestled gently on his chest, a bookmark placed carefully inside of it. His glasses were askew and digging into his cheek and Magnus moved to take them off, knowing the were going to leave a mark. When he removed them, Alec stirred and opened his eyes.

“You know, you don’t have to wait up for me, Alexander.”

“Can’t sleep without you,” Alec reminded him sleepily, sitting up and stretching, the book falling to the ground with a barely audible thud.

Magnus cracked a smile. “The drool on my pillows is proof enough that you can sleep just fine without me, love.” Alec simply grunted in reply and Magnus bent down to pick up the discarded book. He turned it over in his hands and ran his fingers over the title. “Can I ask you a question, Alexander?”

“Always.”

“What do you love so much about this book? I always find you reading it and I’m just curious as to why.”

Alec rubbed his eyes and sat up to his full height. “I could tell it was your favorite book from all the notes you wrote in the margins,” he said simply, as if it were the most obvious thing. “Clearly there’s something about it that you love, and I’ve been reading your notes to find out what.”

“But why?”

“Because I want to know everything about you, Magnus, you know that.” Magnus ran his hand over the author’s name, remembering a long ago conversation with a young man in a cafe who was too skinny and drank too much coffee and talked too fast but was as smart as anyone Magnus had ever met and had a wit to rival his own. He only wished that he could thank him for the book, but all he’d ever learned about him was the name on the cover and the words behind him. “You’re thinking about something.”

“I am.”

“Mind sharing with the class?”

“This book. I - well, I sort of gave the author the idea. I know it’s not the most profound piece of literature, but sometimes I like to skim through it. It comforts me to know that someone listened to me enough to write an entire book based on one conversation.”

“Was the author-”

“One of my lovers?” Magnus guessed with a laugh. When Alec nodded, he said, “No, he wasn’t. I only met him once in a small cafe in London and never saw him after that, but he somehow tracked me down to send me this book with a note thanking me for inspiring him. In the note, he said that he’d nearly given up on writing simply because he couldn’t think of a good enough story, but that our conversation had reinvigorated him.

“I’ve had books written about me before, as well as poetry, but something about this particular book just stuck with me, I’m not sure what it is.”

“It’s a good love story,” Alec pointed out.

“That it is,” Magnus agreed, opening the book and flipping through the pages. They were old and weathered, worn from multiple readings, the margins crammed with his own writing, a combination of old and newer notes.

“Thank you for sharing that story with me.”

Magnus closed the book and set it on the coffee table. “I want to share everything with you, Alexander.” Alec smiled and leaned in to kiss Magnus on the forehead.

"You look exhausted, let’s get you to bed.”

Once they were in bed, Magnus’s chest pressed to Alec’s back, his hands over his boyfriend’s heart to feel the reassuring beat that let him know Alec was real and he was alive and he was all Magnus’s.

Magnus had read many a love story in his life, but his and Alec’s was his favorite.

**Author's Note:**

> come visit me on tumblr: magnificentbane!


End file.
